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The Green Corporate Bond Issuance Premium

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  • John Caramichael
  • Andreas Rapp

Abstract

We study a global panel of green and conventional bonds to assess the borrowing cost advantage at issuance for green bond issuers. We find that, on average, green bonds have a yield spread that is 8 basis points lower relative to conventional bonds. This borrowing cost advantage, or greenium, emerges as of 2019 and coincides with the growth of the sustainable asset management industry following EU regulation. Within this context, we find that the greenium is linked to two proxies of demand pressure, bond oversubscription and bond index inclusion. Moreover, while green bond governance appears to matter for the greenium, the credibility of the underlying projects does not have a significant impact. Instead, the greenium is unevenly distributed to large, investment-grade issuers, primarily within the banking sector and developed economies. These findings have implications for the role of green bonds in incentivizing meaningful green investments throughout the global economy.

Suggested Citation

  • John Caramichael & Andreas Rapp, 2022. "The Green Corporate Bond Issuance Premium," International Finance Discussion Papers 1346, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgif:1346
    DOI: 10.17016/IFDP.2022.1346
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Vishaal Baulkaran, 2019. "Stock market reaction to green bond issuance," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(5), pages 331-340, September.
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    4. Dannhauser, Caitlin D., 2017. "The impact of innovation: Evidence from corporate bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs)," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(3), pages 537-560.
    5. Torsten Ehlers & Benoit Mojon & Frank Packer, 2020. "Green bonds and carbon emissions: exploring the case for a rating system at the firm level," BIS Quarterly Review, Bank for International Settlements, September.
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    8. Julien Xavier Daubanes & Shema Frédéric Mitali & Jean-Charles Rochet, 2021. "Why Do Firms Issue Green Bonds?," Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series 21-97, Swiss Finance Institute.
    9. Peter Lau & Angela Sze & Wilson Wan & Alfred Wong, 2022. "The Economics of the Greenium: How Much is the World Willing to Pay to Save the Earth?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 81(2), pages 379-408, February.
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    Cited by:

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Green bonds; Corporate bonds; Green finance; Sustainable finance; Climate finance; Green bond premium; Bond issuance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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